As marketers we know how often we share information with the people we meet. For example, I personally handed out over 350 business cards alone at Affiliate Summit East in just 2 nights and quickly ran out. While it’s awesome to be handing out so many cards and getting my name out there, it does come at a cost – you know that scene in the Lord of War with Nicholas Cage when he’s shooting the gun and every bullet makes a ca-ching noise, handing out business cards is similar – especially if you pay good money to have nice looking cards. Not to mention, running out of cards at a conference totally sucks.
But, that’s okay because there’s something new out there that makes all of this history. I found out about these things called a “[Poken][2]”. In basic terms, these things are electronic business cards. They’re a small USB device that stores all of your key information so you can quickly transmit it to others. This means no more business card printing which is great for the environment and no chance of running out of cards to hand out – of course, if you lose the device you’re kinda screwed, but how often do you lose your keys? I assume, never.
So, why do smart marketers need one of these? Simple, it’ll cut down on your luggage if you’re bringing 1000 cards and you can keep everything organized in one spot and quickly download it to your computer or laptop when you need to. No more rummaging through napkins, post it notes or whatever else you have peoples contact information written on. Not to mention that these Pokens come in cool colors and styles – ranging from business professional to cutesy little ninjas and monsters.
So, how do they work? Just as you’d expect in today’s technology driven world – you simply walk up to anyone else with a Poken, touch them together and you’ve transferred your contact information. Could it really get any simpler? I don’t think so.
Obviously it will take some time for everyone to have these, so the transition might involve some hand writing and converting information to get it on your [Poken][4], but in the long term I really think lots of people will start using these and it will only get better and easier as time passes.
I personally love this idea, and will definitely be picking one up to use at Affiliate Summit West, now the problem is deciding which one I want to get!
See you at ASW 2010 and I’ll even let you touch my Poken if you ask nicely!
Comments
Comment by nickycakes on 2010-01-04 14:03:35 -0500
2010 prediction: no.
Comment by Matt on 2010-01-04 20:18:40 -0500
oh yur just a hater, they’re pretty cool – but again, i bring like 4 pounds of business cards with me so it makes sense 🙂 plus man, NINJAS!
Comment by MLDina on 2010-01-15 00:02:24 -0500
Pokens are great, I’m hoping they catch on more beyond the industry. It’s much more convenient to carry one tool then hundreds of cards.
Comment by quietaffiliate on 2010-01-21 16:28:50 -0500
you’re just bitter u didn’t have a cool charity to pimp out on home-made cards…. ;p
Comment by Matt on 2010-01-23 19:51:01 -0500
haha, i didn’t even get mine in time for the show! but, i did send a donation to that cool charity on 19.95 staples cards :p